I hate to even blog on this topic especially this time of year but I am so riled up about it....it must come out somewhere. I suppose better here then there!
Two people who are dear to our family recently had incidences out there in the world recently that shocked the heck out of me. I hear about this kind of thing happening but it just hasn't happened to me personally. I think sometimes that we hear stories like this and we are surprised to hear such things occur but the reality doesn't really hit until it becomes personal.
The first incident happened at a Meijer's on a Saturday morning. Now keep in mind that a Saturday morning at Meijer's is like trying to get through the crowds in New York City during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Our friend went to said store with his wife and began not feeling well. He told his wife that he was going to run to the restroom and he would be back in a few minutes. While in the restroom, he felt as if he was going to pass out amongst some other symptoms that indicated he was in trouble. He managed to get to the customer service department to have them call his wife over the intercom but instead of understanding the urgency of the situation, somehow that call just didn't get completed.
At this point what does a person do when they can't make it through the store to get to a familiar face nor can you get a Meijer employee to help you? You lay on the floor because you are in trouble health wise. The thought suddenly hit him that he had his cell phone, he then dialed 911 who stayed with him on the line till the ambulance was able to get to him. During that time, not one person came to see if this person laying on the Meijer floor was ok or needed some help.
The second incident that happened recently was in front of a CompUSA. As this individual was going into the store, her foot got caught on some sidewalk and down she went face first. She hit so hard it almost knocked the wind right out of her. As she laid there for awhile, trying to get her bearings, no one stopped to see if she was ok. She managed to get herself up and enter the store to get some ice to put on her wounds. However, not one of the employees there bothered to write up an accident report or be too bothered by her fall.
I do need to enter a positive note here. Upon one of our camping trips this past fall, Aaron tripped on a piece of loose sidewalk at Big Boy and fell with his face sliding across the cement. When we took him into the restaurant, they were pretty quick about getting him some ice (which no way was he letting that cold touch his owie) along with something to clean it up and kept coming and checking on him to make sure he was ok. They also wanted us to fill out an incident report just in case he would need further looking at by a doctor. The icing on the cake for him? A free ice cream. When we left, he looked awful, but his smile was back :-)
I cannot believe that the world has come to this. Are we too scared to stop and help someone in trouble? Or do we just not have the time to be bothered? I began wondering myself, what would I do if I was faced with a situation like this? Would I stop and offer a hand to help? Would I take the time to address the situation or would I just step over someone and leave it to someone else to take care of?
It does remind me of the parable that Jesus told of the man that was beaten up and left for dead on the road...'The Good Samaritan". How many people passed by before someone felt something in his heart and acted on that? I pray that I do not become so desensitized to opportunities that come across my path, that I do nothing. Instead I want God to choose me to minister to that person in the moment and then go over and beyond what I could do.
I pray today that God will make my heart sensitive to those around me and that I am willing and able to be used by Him in the moment of need.
What would you do?
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